Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Toast bread in a large shallow baking pan in middle of oven until just dry, 25 to 30 minutes. Cook onions, celery, and herbs in butter in a large heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until celery is softened, about 10 minutes. Stir together bread, vegetables, broth, water, and salt and pepper to taste, then cool completely, uncovered.

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Reviews

The recipe written here is incomplete - we have the original issue of Epicurious in which this meal appeared. What's shown here is just "step 1." Step 2 was buried in the recipe about how to cook the turkey. You're meant to take the stuffing at this point (which has cooled and been in the fridge overnight, thus soaking up lots of yummy flavors), and mix 1/2 cup broth with 1/2 cup water and drizzle over all of the stuffing in a baking dish. For the stuffing with half a stick of butter, and bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes, covered for moist stuffing, uncover for last ten minutes for a little crunch. The recipe is absolutely delicious - when you follow the whole thing. Epicurious should really update this.

The thing about ratings seems to be that people are rating based on their changes to the recipe. With some of the tweaks mentioned by other reviewers, this was quite tasty. I made this according to the recipe and agree it was dry and bland. I added dry spices and more broth before using this in my turkey and glad I made the changes.
Sorry to say, I think this is a 2 maybe even 1 star recipe as written. I will be making it again based on all the tweaks...and some bacon. :)

I made this on Thanksgiving, using as side dish rather than actual turkey stuffing. It was my first time making stuffing from scratch and it was surprisingly easy. The classic buttery, sage-infused flavor was a hit. I prepared it the night before, and it held up well in the fridge. Right before dinner, I reheated it in the oven, adding an extra cup of broth which made it even better. This will be my "go to" bread stuffing recipe for years to come.

This was really good. It was the closest stuffing to what my husband recalled eating when he was growing up. It is simple and straightforward. If you are looking to simplify your Thanksgiving feast, as I was, this is a good recipe. BTW, the turkey and gravy that go along with this are fantastic.

So simple and so delicious - my guests loved it and so did I. The important thing to know is that some of the ingredients you need to include are on a different recipe - look for Roasted Turkey with Herbed Bread Stuffing and Giblet Gravy. Make sure you include the additional ingredients for a moist stuffing - it will still brown nicely. Lastly, I used fresh herbs (and increased the amount) vs. dried but otherwise followed all steps and loved it. Would make this again in a heartbeat.

We stopped stuffing turkey over 10
years ago, instead boning the turkey
then making a turkey ballotine then
brining and smoking it. No gravy, no
stuffing, but fabulous! This year,
we decided to make a "traditional"
stuffed turkey. I had forgotten how
to make stuffing so found this
recipe. The only change I made was
to add 10 ounces of home-made
English "banger" sausage -- seasoned
with ginger and sage. While our
brined & smoked turkey had become
a "signature" dish in our home, this
is the best stuffing recipe I have
found. I would recomend against
baking the left-over stuffing,
freeze it and use it to stuff pork
chops -- add a little blue cheese
for the chops.

I got rave reviews for this! The only slight changes I made to the recipe were: added 1 extra cup of chicken broth since I didn't bake it in a bird, used a mix of fresh and dried herbs, and baked it at 325, 45 minutes covered with foil and 10 minutes uncovered.

I think I've made this stuffing every
year since it was published. It's the
best. The only things I have changed
are substituting fresh rosemary and
thyme. I always use dried sage because
it seems to be more flavorful. If you
want the best stuffing to
actually "stuff" with - this is it!!

I made this *almost* as stated except I added 1 lb cooked crumbled sausage (use Jamestown brand). I also used all chicken broth and extra spices to taste. After I assembled the day ahead of time, I baked covered in the oven for 30 mins or so at 350.

While I have not yet made this, I just wanted to add a note to those that think this recipe needs more directions. The fact is, that this recipe is for a STUFFING... that means that when you are done making it, you must then stuff something with it, i.e. your turkey. If you want something easier and possibly with more complete directions, please search for a DRESSING.

This recipe is a supplement to a recipe for "Roast Turkey with Herbed Bread Stuffing and Giblet Gravy". The instructions for finishing the stuffing are under that recipe. It has you add broth, water, and butter and then bake it.

Let me say first
that if you are
going to make this
stuffing, you need
more info than is in
the original recipe.
I'm making this
stuffing right now,
and I think it's
telling, the number
of reviewers who
say, "this is GREAT
and SIMPLE, all I
had to do was
(insert 5 extra
ingredients and
steps)..." And this
recipe does NOT
indicate actually
cooking the
stuffing. One of the
reviewers tries to
help by adding that
one must "mix all
the ingredients then
cook as directed".
Well, that's great,
except that there's
no actual direction
vis-a-vis cooking,
except the toasting
of the bread.
Perhaps they mean
you to stuff it into
your bird. They do
not, however, say
that. I am following
the cooking
directions of other
stuffing recipes
(i.e., put it into a
buttered casserole,
bake at 325º under
foil until heated
through, then bake
uncovered to brown).
Okay, this recipe is
a starting point,
but by itself it's
boring and
incomplete. Simple
it may be, but it's
only great if you
turn it into a
different recipe. I
knew when the onion
celery mixture was
cooking that it was
going to be really
bland, and I'd
already been
generous with the
herbs. I ended up
doubling the herbs
AND adding fresh
ones. I also added
apples and dried
cranberries as well
as 1/4 cup more
broth and 1/4 cup
vermouth (as
suggested by a
couple of people).
It'll probably taste
great! :-) Oh yeah,
I agree - skip the
water.

This is a tasty bread stuffing recipe.
I used a generous amount of dry italian
seasoning (thyme, sage, rosemary,
savory, marjoram, basil and oregano),
and everyone said it was the best bread
stuffing I've made. It's quick, simple,
and tasty. It will be my standard
stuffing recipe from now on.

I made this stuffing with my Thanksgiving dinner this year. The next time that I make it I will double the quantity of the herbs, since I felt that the taste was a bit too subtle. I like a moist stuffing and with this recipe I found the stuffing pan needs to be covered for only the first 15 min. of baking.

To the cook from Heidelberg, yes, I
think they forgot part of the
recipe. You should assemble
everything. Do not bake until you
are ready to serve. This can be made
a day ahead. Then, when you want to
cook it, take it out of the
refrigerator and bring it to room
temperature. Then cook it according
to the directions.

A question: when do you put it in the oven? Recipe
says to preheat oven, but there's no mention of
oven later on. Just stir together ingredients and
then cool completely. So does it get baked or not? I'm kind of assuming it does... but then how long? And if it does get baked and I want to make it 1 day in advance, do I bake it on
the day before and then reheat to serve? Or do I
chill it unbaked and then bake for the first time
just prior to serving? Your help is appreciated.